Bhagavad Gita Ch14 part 05 on 29 May 2021

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

OM VASUDE VASUDAM DEVAM KAMSA CHAHNURA MARDANAM DEVAKI PARAMANANDAM KRISHNAM UNDE JAGADGURUM SARVA PANUSHADO GAVO DOGDHA GOPALANANDANA PARTHO VATSHA SUDHIR BHOKTA DUGDHAM GITA AMRITAM MAHAT MOOKAM KAROTI VACHALAM PANGUM LANGAYATE KIRIM YAT KRIPATAM AHAM VANDE PARAMANANDAM ADHAVAM We are studying the 14th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. What did we discuss so far? There are two principles. Brahman and Maya together these two is called Ishwara. And from this mixture called Ishwara came the entire creation. The lower nature is called Ahamkara. What is Ahamkara? Within each one of us and each one of us is a combination of Brahman and Maya. Brahman means consciousness. Maya means three gunas. These two together Brahman and Maya are Purusha and Prakruti. They are called Ahamkara. Jeevatma means Ahamkara. But the consciousness will ever remain separately completely all the time. So everything in this creation is made up of Purusha and Prakruti. That means these three gunas and this Prakruti is having three gunas. So everything in this universe whatever is the creation living as well as non-living is influenced by these three gunas. Every guna has also we have to remember a lower as well as a higher nature. In life the goal is to evolve from the lower guna to the higher guna. And how do we do that? To transcend beyond the three gunas and remain as one Advaitic single pure consciousness infinite indivisible Brahman is the goal of life. So how to do it? We have to understand what these three gunas are and how do we recognize them? How do we bind them? What happens when they are more manifest? And what happens if they are dominant in our life and what happens if a person dies, is not enlightened, he is sure to be reborn and when he is reborn what do these gunas do? What type of life will be the next life? These are the things that we would like to discuss in this class. So let us remember the goal is to go beyond Maya and Maya is nothing but these three gunas. So how do we go beyond these three gunas? For that the Lord gives us a most beautiful description telling us the five things that is what is the definition of each guna, then how does it bind, how does it manifest in each one of our lives and then what is the consequence if a particular guna is more dominant within us that is while living and after death what happens to us. Now before we proceed further I have to understand something very important. What is that one? Every guna is neither good nor bad. All the gunas are either good or bad. If one guna is excellent for a particular type of activity, the same guna will be terrible for another type of activity. We need to understand that every guna has a lower nature as well as a higher nature. This is one of the important points let us keep in mind, bear in mind. Second, every guna when it only dominates at one particular point of time, space etc. but throughout life one particular guna usually dominates and depending upon that guna our duty should be to convert it from what is called the lower aspect manifestation of that guna to a higher aspect of the guna. Let me give you a small example before we go further. This understanding will facilitate our future shlokas. We have a better understanding of the gunas. Let us take the example of tamo guna. Now tamo guna has a lower nature. When we want to do any activity, when we want to meditate, when we want to concentrate, focus our mind, tamo guna is not very useful. But when we want to have worry-free, deep sleep, deep relaxation, then tamo guna's higher nature is to give us that required rest and relaxation. Other times its lower nature dominates giving this good sleep, good night's sleep or any time sleep for a patient for example to recover from recoup from any illness. Tamo guna is very useful. But you know what happens if a man is too much worried and mind is restless, it is very difficult for such a person. He may be lying on the bed helplessly, but he may not be able to sleep properly. But if the higher nature of tamo guna can give wonderful rest and recouping process will be faster. Similarly rajo guna, when we are terribly attached to something, mind becomes restless and that terrible Krishna craving goes on increasing. Our tendency to grab, to accumulate, not to distribute goes on increasing and that is the lower nature of the rajo guna. But when the same rajo guna participate in social service, philanthropic activities, helping others, caring and sharing for others, that is the higher nature of rajo guna. Sattva guna for example, when we want to sit and meditate and enjoy solitude, it's wonderful. But if the same sattva guna, because we love solitude, because we love knowledge, if knowledge makes us arrogant, if knowledge, quest for knowledge makes us annoyed because the microphones, the loudspeakers are blaring. India is very famous from every temple which is supposed to be very serene and peaceful, conducive to think of the Lord from early morning, even sometimes from midnight, the whole day blaring out, first they blare out a little bit of devotional music and then whole day, far into the deep night, they are blaring this horrible Bollywood music, cinema music, many type of dirty things they are doing it and Hindus are happily closing their eyes. I was very happy when I heard the news that in South Arabia, the prince had ordered to lower one third of the noise not to disturb the neighbours etc. In Muslim countries, if they are able to do it, why not in India? Here politicians are very busy promoting their own selfish welfare instead of trying to do at least some good to the world. What was I discussing? I was trying to discuss, to explain every guna is good, every guna has got two natures and usually the progress will be, first there will be lower Tamoguna to higher Tamoguna, then lower Rajoguna to higher Rajoguna, lower Satvaguna to higher Satvaguna. I didn't give you an example of what higher Satvaguna is. Higher Satvaguna is even if it is disturbing outside, the environment is not conducive as Ramakrishna so graphically puts it but the person is not disturbed. He, Sitoshna Sukha Dukheshu, Samaha Sangha Vivarjitaha, Mana Apamanayoh, Tukha, Sukha, Mitra, Ari, Jaya, Apajaya, Labha, Alabha, Mana, Apamana. Under all the dual conditions, the person's mind is absolutely under his control. He is able to do it under all circumstances. That was what Swami Vivekananda was expressing to us that the ideal should be that sit down for meditation, plunge into the deepest meditation but the next second if it is required to plunge into furious activity without the least bit of disturbing the mind, one should be able to do that. That is the ideal spiritual aspirant. With this background, let us now proceed. It will be easier for us to understand. Again, I am reminding five points. First, about the Gunas. What is the definition? Second, how each Guna binds? Third, how do we know which person, which object is dominant by which Guna? Fourth, what happens even while we are living? If a particular Guna is dominant, usually it is, then until the body falls, what are the consequences? And after death, what type of rebirth a person will be having depending upon which Guna dominates? Just to give you a sample, if a person is endowed with Sattva Guna, he will be remembering God and with the complete Saranagati, surrender at God's feet because his mind is calm. Death doesn't frighten him. Other people's wailings do not disturb him. He is not pulled back. What happens to my family, etc.? And he will be remembering what should be remembered, the Divine Lord. And if he has not completed his sadhana by the grace of the Lord, what happens to him? If a person has fallen from the practice of spirituality because of some particular desire, in the next birth, he will be born in a very conducive, wealthy family, but still spiritual family and takes up from where he left off and progresses further and he will attain in course of time. But if he has not been able to complete, not because he has any desires, but because of some obstruction and remember, according to Gaudapada or even Ananda, great joy that comes from visions of God, etc., is an obstruction. Is it true? Yes. Sriram Krishna's heart was filled with Divine bliss by filling his heart with the idea of his Divine Mother called Kalikakar Vritti. But Dottapuri disillusioned him and said even that's a function of the mind. You should go beyond it. Of course, the Divine Mother bestowed her grace upon him. He was able to do that. These are the five things we are going to discuss, rather the Lord is going to discuss. Now when Sattva guna is dominant in any person, what happens to him? We will discuss that point but I want to tell something about Sriram Krishna. This Sattva guna had increased so much in Sriram Krishna. His body was shining like molten gold. Here is what M had to say. So M was describing at one particular point of time when it was time for his noon meal, Sriram Krishna put on a new yellow cloth and sat on the small couch. His golden complexion blending with his yellow cloth enchanted the eyes of the devotees. I will repeat again. Sriram Krishna put on a new yellow cloth. His golden complexion blending with his yellow cloth enchanted the eyes of the devotees. There was a time when Sriram Krishna visited Jairambati, that is to say his father-in-law's house or mother-in-law's house and then the villagers used to come in rows to see him. The time had come for him. He had taken his food and he was chewing a bitter nut which made his lips red and he put on a very beautiful shawl. He came out to start the journey and lots of villagers gathered and Sriram Krishna was not expecting at all. Why? Because his mind was bereft of any other thought excepting the Divine Mother's thought. He was surprised. He asked Hriday, his constant attendant until the last days of Sriram Krishna's life, Hriday, why did these people come? Hriday said, Mama, you look very beautiful. They are attracted by the lustre that was just pouring out of your body. Sriram Krishna said, what? They have come to see this filthy body, forgetting about God. I will not go. He went inside and then he said, Mother, please go inside. You shine inside as knowledge, as bhakti, not from outside, as beauty of the body. Now here I want to insert something that these people, these people means people like Ramana Maharshi, Sriram Krishna, Holy Mother, Swami Vivekananda, Sri Rama, Sri Krishna, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Buddha, Jesus Christ. People did not understand why they were attracted to them. But it is not that the body was merely shining. The son of a carpenter is speaking with authority like a prophet. How come they could not pierce the divine mystery that he was filled with the spirit of God? So when Buddha visited his Kapilavastu, many years after his enlightenment, he was having more than 500 disciples and this Buddha's son Rahula, he looked at that procession and he asked his mother, Mother, who is my father among these? And the mother said, he who is incomparable. Just look at them, you will see that none will be able to be compared to him. When Sri Ramachandra, as Sri Ramakrishna puts it, entered into Dandakaranya as if a thousand suns with beautiful, cooling, soothing, pleasant light had filled the hearts of Rishis with exceedingly great delight, which they could not understand. Similarly, Krishna, the very name, Karshadeeth Krishna, he who in spite of your unwillingness pulls you to that great realm of Brahman, he is called Krishna. In every one of these cases, something comes out of their body, they were unable to control it. But Sri Ramakrishna prayed to the Divine Mother and it is said thereafter he became very dull. So these are some of the things. Why was Swami Vivekananda such a great attraction? He was called a magnetic personality, not in the ordinary sense, only through spiritual splendor, it is called aujas or tejas, just streams out of their bodies. Such a person is called a magnetic personality. Sometimes people mistake it for some personal attraction because their minds can never fathom the divine mystery of what was inside them. There was a devotee and he made a very great statement. He said as long as the last direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna was alive at the Belur Mutt, the moment one approaches the gate of Belur Mutt, they can feel the vibrations of joy and they know that there is a direct disciple there. Sri Ramakrishna is an ocean of bliss. His disciples are also ocean of bliss only. With this we will proceed. This is just an introduction to say when Sattva Guna becomes dominant, not the lower Sattva Guna but a higher Sattva Guna, then not only it doesn't bind, it doesn't give Mukti, but it shows the way to Mukti as Sri Ramakrishna's parable, which he takes the pains to explain to us in many ways. He does that. At the appropriate place we will discuss about it. Whatever is created here has been created out of Ishwara from the Vedantic point of view or we can say a mixture of Prakruti and Purusha. Everything pertaining to Gods, angels, men, animals, birds, insects, trees, living things, non-living things, everything is produced from the union of Purusha and Prakruti by the power of Ishwara. The soul or the spirit or pure consciousness becomes entangled in the world by its contact with the body or matter. As I mentioned earlier, this combination of a little bit of this consciousness called Chidabasa and identifying itself with the body-mind complex superimposing the qualities of each other. Consciousness on the inert body, inertness on the consciousness, that arises one peculiar phenomena that is called Ahamkara, i.e. everybody bound in this world is subject to this Ahamkara. But the consciousness only seemingly becomes entangled. It ever remains pure consciousness as a Sakshi unattached and it doesn't do anything. But by its very presence the Prakruti seems to work. The most difficult thing to illustrate but I will give. Supposing there is sunlight outside and it is entering into the room through a small hole but it is falling upon an inert mirror and the mirror reflects the sunlight falling upon it and illuminates the whole room. Now the mirror appears to be endowed with light even though it is a borrowed light. So this body-mind complex especially the Buddhi, it reflects the pure consciousness, a ray of consciousness which is called Chidabasa or a small bit what is called reflected consciousness and that seems to be lending its power to the whole room, that means to the body-mind and through all these five sense organs the whole world is as if illumined by that borrowed consciousness. Everything is borrowed but the important point, but from the Advaitic point of view is it never really becomes identified, ever remains separate. That's why a great Vedantic truth we always have to keep in mind. A subject can never become the object, that means I the real Sakshi, the real subject, the real experiencer. Whatever I experience, however much I seem to think myself it, I can never identify. It is not possible not to become the subject but it ever remains separate. For example, nobody mistakes. When he sees at a tree, I am the tree. When he experiences a table, I am a table. It's impossible but the analogy ends there. When it comes to the body, then this is me. When it comes to thoughts, the mind, this is me and actually the world is not a bondage, the body is not a bondage, the mind also is not a bondage but the thought that I am the body-mind, that is the real bondage. So that thought has to be slowly converted into I have nothing to do with the body-mind, I am pure consciousness and after that not only I am pure consciousness, everything else in this world is also pure consciousness. Not only Aham Brahmasmi, Sarvam Kalvidam Brahma and that is what we, spiritual progress consists of that. So that is what we will have to understand. In the 5th shloka of the 14th chapter which we discussed in our last class, That means a great valorous person, hero because you could conquer the whole world. There are three gunas. They are named as Sattva, Rajas and Tamas and all these three they are born of Prakruti. Not like mother giving birth to a child but like clay manifesting as different parts. The Prakruti itself is manifesting as our body and mind as the body and mind of everything in this world. Then what happens? So Dehe in this body Avyayam, that chaitanya which is imperishable, which is unchangeable, which is eternal, which is indivisible. These three gunas, they bind this soul. How? By identification. I am the body and I am the mind. In our Dakshinamurthy Stotram and also in Upanishadic classes also we had discussed there are different levels of identification. The lowest level of identification is that I am my possessions. If somebody loses the money, there is some people commit suicide. If something happens to their children, they commit suicide or they feel like committing suicide. They suffer greatly. This is identification with a possession with which the man has nothing to do. This is the lowest. Then the next, little bit higher, still completely binding, is identification with the body because since 84 lakhs of births we have been constantly, continuously identifying with whatever dress we have been provided by the Divine Lord according to the law of evolution. Remember, until the Jeeva attains to the state of human being, all the animals, they only evolve. That's what we need to understand. The Karma phala only applies to a human being because he has that feeling I want, I know, I desire, I act and I am the doer. Wherever there is kartritva bhava, a doership and there will be also karma phala gets attached both happiness and unhappiness. O Arjuna, these are the three gunas born of prakriti and they bind a person including sattva guna by what is called gluing, super gluing and making us identify, making the Atman identify with the body and mind. Here some great truth is there. The body and mind cannot say that we identify with the soul even though in normal language we use it. It is only a conscious being that can say that I am the body and I am identifying with my other nature unconsciously. So of course, the gunas, sattva, rajas and tamas which are born of prakriti bind fast in the body the immortal embodied soul. O mighty Arjuna, the three gunas sattva, rajas and tamas belonging to shakti. Sri Ramakrishna's quotation. I am quoting from Sri Ramakrishna. The three gunas, sattva, rajas and tamas belong to shakti. What Vedanta calls maya, what tantrics call shakti, Sri Ramakrishna chose to call it shakti and instead of saying brahman and maya he chose to say brahman and shakti meaning exactly the same. But brahman itself is beyond the three gunas. Now what Sri Ramakrishna has to say because these teachings of Sri Ramakrishna with regard to these three gunas are highly enlightening and makes us understand much more clearly the nature of these three gunas and their swabhava, real nature so that we can understand we do not have the three gunas, body, mind they are constituted of the three gunas but me, the pure I, nothing to do with that. I will be reading a little bit from Sri Ramakrishna. Under the spell of God's maya man forgets his true nature. He forgets that he is heir to the infinite glories of his father. This divine maya is made up of three gunas and all three are robbers for they rob man of all his treasures and make him forget his true nature. This world itself is the forest. He is explaining that parable of the three robbers here this world itself is the forest. What is the forest? Where the villager was travelling this world itself, this life itself. The three robbers prowling here are sattva, rajas and tamas. It is they that rob a man of the knowledge of truth. Tamas wants to destroy him. Rajas binds him to the world. But sattva rescues him from the clutches of rajas and tamas. Under the protection of sattva man is rescued from anger, passion and all the other evil effects of tamas. Further, sattva loosens the bonds of the world. A beautiful definition by Shankaracharya of what is called Upanishad comes to my mind here. Shankaracharya says, what is the meaning of the Upanishad? This word has been split into two prefixes and one dhatu, root. Upa and Ni and Sat. Upa means very near, very near to the Atman. Ni means nishchayatmika, nishamsaya without the least bit of doubt. What does it do? Sat. That which destroys, that which leads and that which loosens the bonds. The root Sat in that word Upanishad Upa plus Ni are called prefixes. A prefix as we all know in the grammar it either enhances the meaning of a word or it can also give the opposite meaning. Simple example is Ahimsa. Ahimsa means injury. Ahimsa means non-injury. It denies the proper word of the meaning, gives the opposite meaning. Ashoka, Ahimsa, Atushti, Arama etc. But there are some prefixes which enhance the meaning. That makes it so. For example, Nishchayaha means firm determination. Vinishchaya, V is the prefix. Vinishchaya means what is called immovable willpower so that whatever comes, a man is not going to deviate from what he decided to do it. Here is Upanishad. Here itself Sri Ramakrishna is telling Satvaguna is that which removes, loosens the bonds. But he did not say Satvaguna will take us to or gives us the real knowledge about ourselves. But in common parlance, when we are completely free, suppose somebody binds you and then somebody comes and then releases you, loosens the bond. That means what? You become free. Even though we are using words where B-A-G but really what it means is Sattva by removing, destroying all the bonds there is not much difference between loosening the bond and knowing what one is. Like as soon as light is brought that fear we had that there is a snake in front of me it becomes. How? Because the light destroys the darkness and it need not reveal to me that here is a rope. Rope itself will stand revealed to all of us. This beautiful explanation by Sri Ramakrishna helps us very much. With this background, we will move to the 6th verse. That is Bhagavan Krishna is addressing his disciple. Who is his disciple? Every aspiring spiritual aspirants. What is called How do we know he is a person? Very fit disciple because at the very end of the 10th verse of the 2nd chapter of the Bhagavad Gita after giving a big lecture to Sri Krishna Arjuna says I take refuge in you and you command me. That means what? First of all, I have faith in you. I have chosen you as my guide. I have complete faith in you. I am prepared to do whatever you command me to do. That is called Sharanagati. Sharanagati is not simply folding one's hands and feet and sitting down. Sharanagati means to do the bidding of the Guru of the scripture very much and we have to be intelligent students. That is what one Swami Brahmanandaji was telling. There are three types of disciples. A first class disciple even before a need arises to his Guru they fulfill it. But there are very few people like that. Second type of disciple as soon as the words leave the mouth of the Guru the Guru had to express them in clear terms. This is what I want. Immediately the disciple runs about and does whatever the Guru commands him. But the poorest third class disciple is one even after repeatedly being told by the Guru he will not do anything at all. Anyway, coming back, what were we talking? In the sixth verse, the Lord is talking how Sattva Guna, what is its nature and how does it bind. What is the definition and how does it bind. Tatra, that means when we look at any human beings especially Sattvam we are talking about Sattva Guna. Bhagwan Krishna himself a Lord of the entire universe the Lord of the Maya. How do we know? Because we have seen in the fourth chapter This Maya is mine. I am the master and it is consisting of Gunas and they are not ordinary Gunas. They are divine Gunas. Why divine Gunas? Because every Guna if we understand it properly takes us to the Divine Lord only. Is it true? Does Tamoguna take us to the Lord? Definitely in course of time it takes us to God. Because what is the result of Tamoguna? It makes us fall into error, laziness, procrastination, sleep. That means terrible suffering is our lot whoever is under the spell of the Tamoguna. And by our nature we are Ananda Swaroopa of the nature of bliss. So for long we will not be under it. Every person wants to get out of this suffering. They attempt to be completely free from the trammels of the three sources of suffering Adhyatmika, Adhibhautika and Adhidaivika. That unconsciously we do. You see, I told you many times if somebody puts a very nice sweetmeat in your mouth even in your sleep you open your mouth and try to swallow it. But a very hot rod even if you are touched for a bilisecond immediately you get out and want to remove yourself from that object. It is so unconscious and that is very natural. Tamoguna it makes us feel I must get out. Of course the next higher guna is Rajoguna. After some time man understands Rajoguna is also more troublesome than it is worth. Then enters into Satvaguna. This is how every guna is divine. Every guna is coming from God and what comes from God cannot bind us for long time. What is it telling? Hey Anaga a pure one pure aspirant whenever the Lord says O Arjuna O Kaunteya O Bharata Arshava etc. we have to superimpose and say it is meant if the Lord is addressing each one of us if we are careful to progress in spiritual life. So what is the Lord telling? Tatra that means you look at any object especially human beings. When Satvaguna is dominant then what happens? Anamayam Prakashakam Nirmalatva Satvaguna is Nirmala. Nirmala means pure. Pure means without any dirt or dust. So there are two types of things are there. What are the dirt and dust? One is Tamoguna another is Rajoguna. So to be free from the Tamoguna is Nirmala. To become Mala means dirt impurity Ajnana Tamoguna etc. And Anamayam Body is healthy. Mind is healthy. Rational faculty is healthy. Then Prakashakam Tremendous light wherever the person looks when he is endowed with Sattva he the same person understands it much better much deeper much more rightly than anybody else. Simple example when Sri Ramakrishna uttered that word you are a pitiable Jeeva it is not for you to show compassion sympathy it is for you to serve to the best of your ability looking upon whom you are serving as Shiva himself. That is the way to move forward. Shiva Gnane Yuva Shiva And there were quite a number of disciples and devotees they all heard it but who understood it to the very depths only some way Swami Vivekananda has understood it. Why? Because in him the Sattva Guna is blazing Prakashakam and he was so pure Swami Vivekananda was so pure as I quoted earlier somebody questioned him how come you are able to understand things put it across so simply so that others can understand light used to come from Swami Vivekananda's body of course most people are blind to it excepting a few people like Sister Nivedita towards the end just before the passing away of Swamiji Nivedita had made a remark said Swamiji's spirit has grown so huge so large that this body will be incapable of holding it for a long time and those words came absolutely true Anamaya means what there is no negativity there at all no disease no ill health neither physical nor mental etc when Sattva comes Prakashakam just as you take a very powerful light and then you wherever you direct it it will reveal to the very depths both not only light but like a microscope or like a telescope it gives the greatest knowledge and right knowledge and it will never go into erroneous knowledge that is called Prakashakam that is of the nature of light because the buddhi has become very pure and this is what we are all wanting every second of our life through that beautiful prayer Dhiyo Yonah Prachodayat Atmanam how does but these are the what is called manifestations of Sattva Guna first of all purity Nirmalatvam that means very less very little of Rajas and Tamas then Anamayam absolutely obstructionless healthy both body and mind and Prakashakam it throws a big light that is why you know when a child is very very intelligent very bright we say that very bright person bright boy bright girl brightness in that respect that boy or girl they are very very intelligent and Gnana has come so these are the three qualities purity and then healthiness and rationality and the ability to understand in great depth and in the right way this is the nature but it binds the soul Atmanam Padhnati it binds the soul how does it bind Sukha Sanghena Gnana Sanghenicha Padhnati very interesting but first the translation of these three qualities Sattva being stainless is luminous and healthful it binds O sinless Arjuna by creating attachment to happiness and attachment to knowledge as I mentioned earlier please recollect Sattva has got lower and higher aspects in the lower aspect what does it do it brings enlightenment this we get in the Mundaka Upanishad Kata Upanishad many other Upanishads Avidyaya Mantare Vartamanah Swayam Dheerah Panditam Manyamanah these people they are constantly they are swimming in what is called Avidya Avidya means usually translated as non-knowledge or ignorance but that's not true they are a person who doesn't know anything he doesn't swim in Agnana simply he is too simple even to be affected by non-knowing but those who know something little knowledge produces too much arrogance these are arrogance they think nobody is equal to us and they are swimming themselves they do not know anything but if a person is real knowledgeable person then he will be very happy person but these people always they are fearful if somebody comes maybe he is more learned than me and he will defeat me my good name will go away all the people in the world worldly objects give us tremendous amount of happiness now I want to insert a note here such a beautiful subject we have to plumb to the very depths of this one see suppose there is a sweet nice sweet and suppose three people are sitting on a sweet meat do you think all the three people will derive exactly the same type of happiness absolutely no just imagine three persons are standing in front of three mirrors one is concave mirror another is convex mirror the person who is standing there but it is not complete knowledge but there is a very clean mirror spotlessly clean mirror and the man who is standing in front of him he sees his reflection exactly as his body looks like the same object can give us three different types of happiness this subject has been very important in my life and I will continue to share this subject with you in the coming days and I will continue to share this subject with you in the coming days and I will continue to share this subject with you in the coming days and . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . what happens Sukha Sanghena, Gnana Sanghena, Cha Bhadnati. This is Sattva Guna, which is Sattva. Lower aspect of Sattva binds a person by producing tremendous amount of Ananda. It could even be in the words of the Gaudapada, Andhukya Karikahi tells that there are four obstacles for yoga, progress in spiritual life. What are they? The first is called Laya, means the moment a person strives to do some spiritual practice, he goes into sleep because his mind refuses to cooperate and it says I am not interested simply, just as some of our audience also, they attain to that state very easily. What does it mean? In realistic terms, it means that though I say I am interested in the subject, but the mind refuses to cooperate with that person. This is called Laya. Laya means simply in the name sleep. If somehow the person overcomes that one, the next Vigna will come to him and that is called Vikshepa. The mind becomes terribly restless at express speed. It is going here and there at rocket speed and it is impossible to focus such a mind. That is the Vikshepa. Somehow if he overcomes it, a tremendous worldliness overpowers him which is called Kashaya. Spiritual life becomes very bitter. Remember these words are not to be easily understood. For you and me, Kashaya will not come. Bitterness will not come. Only when a person has practiced spiritual life for many, many janmas, then he is getting somewhere. At that time, the old samskaras rise up like as it is said when Buddha was about to attain illumination, then Mara came trying to tempt him in many ways. This is the condition of many, many spiritual sadhakas. That's why surrender to God is the only way out. So Kashaya and Shri Ramakrishna says when somebody complained to him that I am going through this. Nowadays I don't even believe in God. Ramakrishna smiled and very calm and serenely he says yes, yes, yes. That is also a stage in spiritual progress. But do not worry, you will soon overcome it. But one has to go through that. This is what Saint John of the Cross says, the dark night of the soul. But if we persist with faith in Guru's words and in God, in scriptures and in God, O Lord, please help me, then the person will go forward and then what happens to him? Then he had overcome sleep, he had overcome tremendous restlessness, he had overcome the bitterness, the dregs of worldliness trying to pull us down and now tremendous bliss starts flooding his heart, indescribable bliss and according to Gaudapada, if you get stuck there, then you are finished because that is also a bondage. This is what is being expressed by the Divine Lord, O sinless one, this sattva guna manifests as purity and as enlightenment and as health of both body and mind. But whatever such a sattvic person, a lower aspect of sattvic person, that person enjoys much better than anybody else the same objects but it also binds him because he becomes attached. I want that bliss again and again and further there is another gnana sanghena, he becomes insatiable thirst for knowledge. There are so many examples in the Puranas which we will discuss when the occasion comes but tremendous joy comes from studying the scriptures. This is called the desire for shastra, shastraishana, this is there is desire for wife, desire for son, desire for vitta, then shastraishana is I want to study. What is there? Even if you study billions of lives, brahma satyam jagan mithya, this is all that you need to do. So this happened to Swami Turiyananda, future Swami Turiyananda, Hari Maharaj, he stopped visiting Sri Ramakrishna himself, though he understood he was the greatest spiritual being at that time and Sri Ramakrishna one day sent for him and said why is it I do not see you? Then he replied, sir I am very much enjoying study of the Vedantic scriptures especially with Shankarabhashya and Sri Ramakrishna puts it. What is the essence of all these scriptures? Brahma satyam jagan mithya. Is it not? Is there anything more? And those enlightened worlds imbued with tremendous power that is the darkness of Brahma satyam jagan mithya. Hari Maharaj's illusion is completely destroyed. He accepts it and then he bows down and then he focuses upon what should be done. So this is what in this sixth shloka the Lord is telling of this sattva being stainless, is luminous and healthful. It binds, oh Arjuna, by creating attachment to happiness and attachment to knowledge. I want to end this on a simple note that when a person wants happiness, here is a clue, develop sattva. You will get from the same event, from the same object, a happiness which is unequalled by anybody else in this world. Even from a practical psychological viewpoint. Even if somebody says I don't want God, I don't want self-knowledge but I want worldly happiness. Sattva gives the highest worldly happiness. There are so many beautiful points we have to understand which we will discuss in our future classes.